Stranded in their cars on snow covered roads, some in the mountainside town of Murree froze to death and others died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
At least 21 people died on Saturday when their cars became stuck on snow-covered roads leading to a popular tourist town just outside Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital. Soldiers rescued people from at least 24,000 vehicles stranded by heavy snow near the hill station town of Murree, officials said. Other snowbound drivers and their passengers were given blankets and food. “Where machinery can’t reach, troops have been moved and they are clearing traffic and opening roads,” read a statement by the Pakistani military. Rescue officials said the victims were found dead in their vehicles, some possibly dying of carbon monoxide poisoning overnight. The dead included a family of four daughters and two sons, all under 15 years of age. The heavy snowfall in Murree and Pakistan’s northern regions was predicted by the country’s meteorological department no later than Jan.5, and came as part of a broader wave of cold weather impacting the region, including the Indian side of the Himalayas.
